How to Throw a Pinterest-Worthy Birthday Party (and Stay Frugal)

Elizabeth VanCamp

As my daughter’s first birthday approached, the stress about planning her party hung over my head like a dark cloud. As I researched ideas, I was quickly inundated by images of perfect first birthday parties—adorable cake smashes, elaborate decorations and party favors, and perfect arrays of food—and I felt slightly defeated.

In addition to not being a born party planner, I’m also very frugal, so I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on a party that my daughter wouldn’t even remember. But, my husband and I wanted to make the party enjoyable and cute for our guests (and for us). I began my search for an affordable way to throw a Pinterest-worthy first birthday party that wasn’t a total snoozefest.

MAKE A PARTY BUDGET

First thing’s first: decide how much you want to spend on the party. Once you know the maximum amount you want to spend, you can divide that into sub-budgets for invites, location rental, decorations, and food. Knowing the budget for each aspect of my daughter’s party made me feel slightly less stressed and better prepared me for planning the party.

DECIDE ON A THEME

Whether it’s a cute, coordinated theme (like “Mr./Ms. Onederful” or “Wild One”) or something simpler, deciding a general theme will make buying decorations and party favors easier on you. For instance, our theme was pastels, so pretty much anything light and cheery was welcome for her party. Nothing really matched— we used flowers, word balloons (which said, “Party”, “Yay”, and “One”—so cute!), and table cloths with different patterns—but everything was pastel colored, and we loved how fun and simple it all was.

PICK A LOCATION

This step will require you to have an idea of how many people will attend the party. Once you know that, you can decide if you can host it at your house (or at a loved one’s home, if they’re willing) or if you’ll need to rent a space.

If you need to do the latter, there are plenty of inexpensive options at community centers or churches. Some places in the Quad Cities cost as little as $20 per hour (like the Bettendorf Community Center), so don’t despair about your party budget if you need to rent a space!

Keep it simple. Most people are there to ooh and ahh over your child, and they won’t even notice half of the details.

DECIDE WHAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT A PROFESSIONAL

Can you bake, make delicious food, or put together decorations like a boss? Anything you can do on your own for the party will save you money. I picked up on some serious cake decorating skills from my mom growing up, so I decided to make her cake myself.

I found inspiration for her cake while searching, “simple birthday cake ideas” on Pinterest. Remember, our theme was pastels, so I didn’t have much to guide me when deciding what her cake would look like. Luckily for me, about five minutes into the search, I found the cutest cake idea. It was simple but very much my style and pastel themed.

I got out my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook, found a recipe for a vanilla cake, and tried to recreate the Pinterest cake. If you decide to make the cake yourself, I suggest doing a trial run. Thankfully I did because the first cake was the definition of a “Pinterest fail”. My second attempt yielded a much better cake and, even with the two separate attempts, I still saved about $50 by making it myself.

That being said, don’t take on anything that’s going to make this party too stressful. If baking a cake or making food for a huge number of people is just going to cause you anxiety, consider hiring someone to take over those aspects of the party. You can also ask a friend or family member to help so you’re not solely responsible for all the work. From my experience, most people are happy to help with putting together an adorable first birthday party.

FIND DECORATIONS, PARTY FAVORS, AND OTHER SUPPLIES

Once you’ve decided on the theme, start looking for decorations early so you have time to find the best deals, and don’t limit yourself to one store. I started looking around for decorations and supplies about a month in advance, and bought them whenever I saw a good deal. About 50% of our party supplies (including those word balloons I mentioned earlier) came from Target’s dollar section. I also found supplies at Michaels and on Amazon, and I even got a few things from the farmer’s market.

You can also find great additions to your party at the Dollar Store or a thrift or antique store. Take some you-time and go antiquing—you might be surprised by all the cool pieces you find to make your child’s birthday uniquely adorable.

We opted not to include party favors. For us, they were an unnecessary added expense, and everyone seemed to have a great time despite their absence. However, if you decide to give them out, there are plenty of inexpensive things you can offer, like bubbles, candy, or homemade cookies.

SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

In the age of Pinterest perfect parties, it’s easy to put pressure on yourself to throw the cutest, most coordinated birthday party for your child. But it’s important to set realistic expectations and goals for this party so you don’t end up taking out a small loan for it. Pick which details are most important to you and plan the party accordingly.

And remember that the point of your child’s first birthday party is to celebrate them (not to have an Instagram ready party), so it’s alright if every last detail isn’t picture perfect. I know that not every detail of my daughter’s party was picture worthy (in fact, we forgot to take pictures throughout the party!) but it was fun for all involved, and low stress for me, which is a win-win.

Planning a frugal birthday party can feel impossible, but you can do it! Deciding on a budget, keeping things relatively simple, and planning ahead will keep you from breaking the bank, and will help you stay cool, calm, and collected. The best thing you can do is plan a party that will be enjoyable for you and your child. The rest is just details.